How did I get here?

Well, shoot. Where do I begin? How about at the beginning...

I arrived in Sydney, and after taking a detour via the Blue Mountains for the day (lovely hikes, camping, sights... if I had ever been to the Grand Canyon I might compare the two. The Blue Mountains, and subsequent canyons, are covered in Eucalyptus - the oils from which tint the sights hazy blue, supposedly) I dropped the car off at Hertz and made my way up the hill towards the hugely notorious Coca-Cola sign at the top of William street and at the edge of King's Cross. One week in Sydney, starting riiiight.... NOW!

Or so I thought. As usual, one week turned into another, into another... this is the reason I love traveling alone. I don't have to ask my Travel Buddy, "Hey, TB. Do you mind if we stick around? I really like it here." I just wake up, and ask myself questions like " Hey, self. Are the benefits reaped here outweighing the potential costs of future plans?" Or, "Is there any reason why I should leave yet?" The answers to each were obvious before the question entered the foreground of my consciousness. Stay in Sydney I did, for six lovely weeks.

What did I do for those six weeks? Well, in all honesty, on paper it might not look like much. I went to a few museums. Went to a lot of beaches. Took some ferries. Cooked Kangaroo. I made fajitas, they were awesome. Seared the lean, low-in-cholesterol meat, stir fried green bell peppers mushrooms and onion (with garlic of course), flash fried them together and served with fresh avocado and lime and pepper on top with flour tortillas. Man was I popular in the kitchen that night. One cool thing about living in a youth hostel is that you see all these people from all over making somewhat familiar things in the kitchen, but serious authentic shit. Breakfast was the best -- Koreans Italians and French, the boring American and English... I got so many free fresh crepes and yummies... I plan to make a cook book at some point with the recipes I've collected. BUT I DIGRESS.

The people I spent the most time with were the French, this time around (you might remember my UK & English buddies in Melbourne). I made myself a little niche in what I jokingly called a French colonization, somehow there were about 15 of them all in the hostel, and me. I have always had a fascination with French culture, history and language. We became a sort of family, taking turns to make dinner for ourselves, going to new beaches and hikes (a lot of the coast is lined with hiking trails), and carousing the nights away. It was really hard to leave, which in part is why I stayed for so long. But, I ultimately set a deadline for myself, as Sydney was expensive and also difficult to find a job in (since I have a precarious visa... uhm, situation). I purchased a ticket to The Good Vibrations Festival in the Gold Coast, planned to meet Frenchie there once he got back from Fiji, and set my departure date. "Hey, you guys, I'm leaving on Wednesday!" I announced to my table of friends. "Yea, right, but which Wednesday?" James quipped, triggering a wild fire of laughter around our table, and the one next to ours. (Ever notice how someone laughing makes you giggle even if you don't get the joke?) Ok fine. Maybe I had said every week that I was only going to stay "Just one more week." Fair enough.

When the news was finally taken seriously, there were lots of tears, promises to meet again, and other such nonsense. It IS sad, but what is it about leaving that prompts us to make unrealistic promises? We all live on different continents. Well, I do, they were mostly French. but still. I mean we *might* see one another again, but if we don't, does the diminish what we had together here in Australia? We came, we shared some laughs and love, made memories, got tattoos, broke hearts, mended spirits, and saw things for the first time. The ultimate, I cannot stress this enough, being the most amazing. Think about it: when is the last time you saw something for the first time EVER? It's so exhilarating and wonderful and to share that with new people as excited as you are makes you so close, you create bonds that you may never have had with anyone else. They're so unique, just like the places in which they're (the bonds) are being created, and just like the people you're with. Anyway. I'm not demeaning the emotions, because I had them myself. I just wonder what it is about human nature, what we share on the most basic level that we feel the need to keep something alive past it's expiration date. Maybe to cling to something that feels so good, you don't want it to end. Or resisting the end because it means you're one step closer to all of this being over.

Which brings me to yet another tangent (as you can see I haven't been as productive in writing offline, either, so this won't be very focused). I am going to be overseas until June 15th. I figured I would tell everyone here since I seem to get the question a lot. While that seems a long time, I haven't met anyone who is traveling for any amount of time less than a year. I'm really sad I have to miss Alexis' bachelorette party and bridal shower, but I wouldn't miss the wedding for anything in the world. So when I get asked "why 9 months and not a year?" I happily explain that I GET to come home for my best bud's wedding!! :0)

So back to the last few weeks: a couple of days prior to leaving Sydney (for reals this time), I met up with Jessie in Manly Beach. Jessie and I went to UCLA together, and had Milton for ten loooong weeks. We bonded. Lost touch 'cept for facebook - she moved to Hawaii after graduation, I to NYC. Facebook put us back in touch, due to my updates about being still in Sydeny etc. Turns out she was moving to the North Shore for post grad work in International Relations! Met up, she wanted to see Byron Bay and take a road trip before her classes started, I said well join me. And Join me she did. But not before Olivia, a South African traveler anxious for a change of scenery from Bondi beach, joined us during a rousing round of drinks the night before departure. Sweet - I now had two friends in tow to join me for the multi day road trip to Gold Coast / Surfer's Paradise for the Good Vibes fest. Good thing, too, because Jessie's darling friend Bush (his real first name, trust me I checked his passport) hooked us up with not only two extra tickets tot he sold out show for Liv and Jess, but also a free apartment to stay in for the weekend we were there and an entourage of hot local surfers to accompany us to the fest. Frenchie wasn't the happiest of campers once we met up, but it's good for him.

Before we got to the best festival of all time -despite, or maybe because of, the torrential rain toward the end of the last performer, Fat boy Slim- we stoped in Port Macquerie over night, drove to Byron Bay for a few days via Bellingen (I found B. Bay over-priced and -rated, the beach was nice but the people were not and compared to the Backpacker Mecca painted by nearly everyone, we were totally let down), a road & head trip through Nimbin (as in road trip and head trip, you filthy animals), then finally Surfer's. WHEW. If I get to it, I will go into more detail about all those places and the things we did along the way, but I'm finding I am enjoying keeping some of these things off paper, and saving them for myself. In some cases, it's totally better this way.

Well, after the festival, the girls went back to Sydney, and I to see where I wanted to look for work. Which is what brought me to lovely Noosa, a small Laguna Beach-esque town on the Sunshine Coast. I found job on day one working at the Halse Lodge, a YHA so close to the beach you can feel it in the air. I work for free accommodation, meals, and Internet - which is why you'll be hearing a lot more from me. I live in a flat with the others who work here, which is great because I finally feel like I can settle down for a while and save some money. I plan on visiting Sydney this coming weekend, to visit a friend for his birthday... hopefully he hasn't figure out that I have a blog (he's still learning facebook so I think the secret is safe here 'til then)!

Well that is the official update on the unofficial life of KLWM. Miss you all and I can't really demand more updates since I haven't given you any, but maybe if I'm consistent I can get a piece or two of juice.

smooches x

Sometimes...

.. you need to fall off the grid.

I'm in Noosa, QLD, and will be here for the next 4 weeks working at a Lodge in exchange for accommodation & food; i.e. I'll have a lot more time to write.

xo

Sydney via the gor, princess hwy and the pch + blue mountains

Last Friday I rented a car with 4 of my English friends from the hostel Sean & Adam (who are friends traveling together), and James & Dan (same), prepared to take the Great Ocean Road by storm (hereafter "gor"). Our mission: to see the supposedly infamous 12 Apostles. This was my first time driving on the right (hereafter "wrong") side of the car and the left side of the road, and I was pretty nervous, especially because in Melbourne there are these things called "hook turns" where, because of the trams that occupy the middle lanes, you can only turn right from the left hand lane. Which is just confusing on so many levels. The car itself is really nice, it's a statesman or something, 6 cd player and So we make it out of town, and our first stop was this lighthouse that is in some show in England that they wanted to see, and at first I didnt want to stop, but I'm so glad I did. It was beautiful. I'll have to link to the facebook picture once Adam puts them up.

So for the most part, the day went without incident... well at one point I turned right across traffic and went to the right side of the divider, subsequently casing a chourus of screeches I didnt think possible from the male population. We also stopped in Apollo bay for some pretty rockin' fish n chips, english style... delicious fresh caught from the bay. We spent all of about 30 minutes at the 12 Apostles, snapped some photos and ran back to the car.. it was freakishly cold at that point and none of us were prepared. We went back home, but not before we tested the size of the boot (trunk) by putting Sean inside. Again, photos to come.

Saturday I had to wake up early to tear myself away from warm covers and cuddle, to pack all my shit and checkout of the hostel. I didn't leave 'til about 2pm, and I drove straight through to Malcoota... a sweet little town on the coast. The drive between was amazing, straight up Rain Forrest and National Parks. It was beautiful, until it got dark and I was exhausted from driving all day and low on gas... yea wasn't as fun then. Next day, the drive was much more relaxed. I stopped in Eden, which is aptly named. My first stop on the Sapphire Coast, also a proper name as the water is brilliantly clear, blue and just plain pretty. Clean sand and deserted beaches, small town and yummy fish n chips! Bermie was more of a disappointment, So I passed through Quickly. Milton had a good lollie shop, and then I stopped in Jervis Bay. All the acomodation was *conveniently* booked solid, so this was the night I was to sleep in the car. Lucky for me I rented a statesman (cheapest car in Hertz! surprisingly) so I had plenty of room. I found a pub and parked in the corner, went in and had a pint and pretended to be interested in the footie match (mel v per) (10 minutes for me to piece together that it was Melbourne v Perth). These 3 fogies were playing pool, and were pissed as hell, and invited me to play doubles. OF COURSE, says I. I'll wipe the floor with you. Wipe the floor we did, but not thanks to me, and anyone who has ever played any bar games with me knows how much bigger my bark is compared to my bite :)

After long discussions of Obama, world politics, views of Americans and Americas role in the world (also one dude's non-pc rant about how the aboriginals should be wiped completely from Australia... not the group consensus but we democratically allowed him to have his say), I called it a night. They insisted on coming the next morning to pick me up for breakfast on their boat, since I refused housing for the night, and to my surprise they came for me around 10am then next morning. A few beers and some baked beans later, I heard their 'night before' stories... the racist fell through the floor trampoline when he stumbled on the boat, and fell into the water, while the couple parked their dingy too close to the boat so when the tide came up the engine sunk. HA! Hilarity.

Left Jervis after some address exchanges, on my way to Woolongong. Boring. Was supposed to meet up with Alexis' friend who as it turns out wasn't in town that day, so I planned the rest of my trip up to Brisbane. Most of it ended up getting cut once I looked at a whole map of Australia... you guys I've only nicked the bottom half! I need to get a move on. Instead of going to Sydney right away, I took a trip to the Blue Mountains, which were gorgeous. Came to Sydenty last night, and have been enjoying it so far! MUch cleaner than expected, and prettier. Except for Bondi. Skip Bondi if you have the chance.

Well running out of time so I hope this wasnt too much of a rant. Miss you all and hope to be better about updating.

xxx

Melbourne

(I've been terrible with writing, keeping in touch, and updates in general, so this is everything I can think of before I forget. I might add more as things come to me.)

SOME Highlights of my time here in Melbourne are included, but not limited to:

- Polish Bouncer ridiculing me with the following: "Tell me, why are Americans so stupid?" He wasn't excluding present company. Apparently, this video is the source for every non-American's view of the good ole U.S. of A.;

- Aforementioned bouncer unable to name 10 states in the USA (He was able to produce the following: Utah, California, Florida, East Virginia, West Virginia, Chicago, and New Orleans);

- 50,000 people dressed head to toe in white for Sensation on NYE;

- 4 seasons in one day, everyday;

- Being told I have a lovely accent, and being the only American for miles;

- Learning about cricket/ pretending to care about cricket;

- Seeing a wild kangaroo (it was roadkill, but still, I will see one with a pulse eventually);

- learning to look right when crossing the road, without the nifty London precautions spray-painted on the ground for  foreigners' convenience; 

- GOON;

- Hearing my British friend's story of how he learned Father Christmas wasn't real: "I heard a loud noise downstairs, and when I came out of my room I saw my dad had fallen down proper pissed at the bottom of the stairs, in a pile of presents. It now makes sense why we put out bourbon and meat pie instead of cookies." 

- Spilling a beer on a banker my  first night waitressing at a chic lounge... oops;

- Moonlight cinema in the Botanical Gardens, with the bats across the sky right at sunset; 

- The picturesque beaches; 

- Learning to say Mel-bin; 

- Introducing travelers to Dave Chappelle's Killing Them Softly, and watching it with them and thus reliving the first time experience; 

- Cooking for 25 people in the hostel for family night (they liked it!);

- Christmas dinner at a traveler's house in the 'burbs, with 15 people and homemade Pimms; 

- Highly advertised hangover magic cure pills, in movie previews and on TV all the time;

- Bouncers at the Bottle Shops (liquor stores) after hours, and yours truly being turned away... Subsequently arguing my right to purchase goon and go home to drink if I feel like it, and who the hell are you that you can *magically* discern my B.A.C. from way over there? You're just a doorman, doorman! Doorman! Doorman! DOORMAN! 

- Hearing the Obama acceptance speech mashed over a techno song at Sensation on NYE, and the crowd (of 50,000) going nuts.

- Watching the original Batman movie from the 60's with 4 Dutch guys... priceless. 

Anyway. I have been here a month, have been working sporadically at a lounge, making some monies, and enjoying the city. Met many quality people, of course. French, German, Dutch,  Belgium, English, Australian, Canadian, Austrian, Italian... amazing. I am ready to get on the road, though, I'll be leaving on Saturday to drive up the East Coast, ending my trip in Port Douglas. I plan to take about a month to do so, then off to New Zealand. Pretty much hopping my way back up to Thailand, where my return flight leaves from. Ill be back by the end of May, in time for Alexis' wedding in SB! 

Miss you all very much, and I was so glad to hear from everyone over the holidays, especially when my grandma passed away. It was tough being far away from home - and alone - during a time of loss. It's nice to feel the love from the other side of the world, it certainly made it easier to get through. Thanks :o) 

Much love to you all.

xx 

terribly mistaken

Melbourne Movie theater, night.

Enter: KATY, all grins, as she is about to engage in a transaction with a person who speaks native English, for the first time in 2 months. She approaches TICKET CLERK, who looks incredibly bored.

KATY: Hello, I'd like one for Quantum of Solace, please (smiles genuinely).

TICKET CLERK: (unintelligible).

K: Hmm? (Slightly confused, but not deterred. After all, it is a bit loud).

TC: (louder) Any coupons or concessions?

K: Uh, no?

TC: Alright, that's one -

K: - Wait, I buy popcorn here?

TC: Coupons or concessions. You buy the popcorn inside.

K: (Still confused, but trying to pretend like it was misunderstood). Ooooooh, no. Well, I definitely want popcorn, but no.

TC: Alright (speaks through teeth), Where would you like to sit?

K: (Long pause, then) Wait, I can choose where I sit, here?

TC: Yes miss.

K: Uhm. OK... Isle? In the back?

TC: Alright. (Then. very slowly, with annoyingly dominant eye contact:) Your film is upstahs, take the lift on the left. (Hands ticket to visibly disturbed patron).

KATY takes the ticket and gets lost looking for the lift, which she knows to be an elevating mechanism of some sort or other, but only after she looks right does she find the elevator. Purchases popcorn and soda with minimal trouble, but for needing to repeat her order three times before the CONCESSIONS CLERK understands that she just wants a fucking diet coke and popcorn. Finally, ticket in one hand, and soda in the other with popcorn under the arm, KATY approaches the TICKET TAKER, and hands him her ticket for Quantum of Solace.

TT: Alright, Quant- oh, wait. This starts at eight THIRTY, miss.

K: Yes...

TT: It's only 8 o'clock.

K: Yes...

TT: (annoyed) The film isn't over yet, I'm sorry you'll have to wait.

KATY looks around to see there is no place to sit, let alone any place to stand without looking totally stupid standing there with her popcorn and soda and movie ticket in the middle of the empty lobby, and how much time do they allow to clean the place? When is a good time to come back? She decides to look around the lobby posters as though extremely interested, until trying again once a group leaves the theater, with 15 minutes before curtain.

NEW TT: Hello. Ah, theater on your left.

K: (Looking at ticket for the non existent seat assignment, and subsequently confused) Uh, sir?

NTT: Is there a problem?

K: Is there, an uh, seat assignment? (winces for fear of yet another crippling are-you-retarded-glare)

NTT: Ah, yea, I'm sorry, I ripped it. Here you are.

K: (relieved) Thanks!

NTT: No worries!

KATY sits in the theater to enjoy Quantum of Solace, from beginning to end, except for the song at the beginning, which totally sucked, and sounded worse than the alley cats in Bangkok fighting. Also was perplexed with the previews, which included one precautionary commercial depicting a girl cutting off her hand in a store because she didn't ask how to use the bread slicer, ending with "It Never Hurts To Ask." ; and a recruiting commercial for Massage Therapy School in Canada. Here KATY thought life and culture in Melbourne, Australia, would be un-interestingly similar to life in America. No extra credit given for figuring out what she thinks now.

Pics

Well here are some pictures I have finally been able to upload, I'm new to Picassa so we will see how it works. It took me three days (as my gchat buddies have seen) to upload, sort, and get these pictures in any sort of presentable order, so I hope they're not too redundant (some of the temple ones probably are, I couldn't stop taking pictures though, every corner I turned was more amazing). I will add more Bangkok pictures to the 2nd one. For the most part they are (should be) chronological, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Meong River, Laos, Cambodia, Railay Beach, Bangkok. ENJOY!

KATY 1 -500

KATY last batch

Thais - They're just like US!

This is something I've been wanting to do, but haven't been able to until I got to a place where I could upload photos. There are more, but I can only handle so much photo uploading in one day... so keep your eyes peeled for the installments to follow, of a little chapter I like to call :

Thais - They're just like US!

They hang their clothes to dry!

They get bored at work!

<--- bubblewrap














They have a tough time spelling foreign words!














They have street carts with coffee! (The cans are used for shaking the milk and coffee and sugar together - yum.)




And they sell nuts on the street, too!




















They have organized, clean subways, that run on time-- JUST LIKE NEW YORK!












AND they even commit a fashion faux-paux here and there. Looks like someone forgot his belt at home today, oops!

They value customer service...
("We Want You Be Happy" aw, shucks)

And they're up to date on current affairs!

All in all, it's been an easy transition. Who would have guessed they'd be so much LIKE US?